Life Must Go On
by beansproutie
Summary: Cath is visiting Levi at his ranch in Arnold for a few weeks. When her dad isn't answering her phone calls, she begins to worry. Whatever happens though, at least she has Levi, and life must go on.
1. Chapter 1

_Authors note – All of this is based on Rainbow Rowell's novel _Fangirl,_ all credit goes to her where it's due. She rocks. Let me know what you think of this. I really enjoyed writing it. _

"Dad, it's me, Cath, call me back when you get this message,"

"Dad, seriously, call me back, I'm worried,"

"I'm not going to call you anymore after this, just…call me back,"

She'd been at Levi's for four days now, enjoying her time on their ranch. Cath was only just getting used to the fact that Levi woke up at seven every morning to milk cows and collect the hens' eggs, or like, shave a sheep or something. Except on Sundays. She didn't think they had sheep, anyway.

Her dad had called her the first night she got there, just like they'd planned. He was supposed to yesterday, but hadn't returned any of her calls yet. Talking to Wren didn't do any good since she was staying with Jandro the next couple weeks too.

Now she laid on an air mattress in Levi's family's basement. Light was peeking through half windows, making Cath wince.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Levi smiled, walking in and sitting down on her air mattress, making her side blow up considerably.

Cath rubbed her eyes, "Stop smiling, it's eight o'clock in the morning,"

His grin grew stronger, "The family is requesting your omelets," he said, "I told them how great they are,"

A bubble grew in Cath's stomach, now they were all expecting some five-star breakfast.

"Don't worry," he said, "Even if they suck my family loves you anyway,"

He was right. Reagan hadn't been completely wrong about Levi's mom, but she had been partly wrong. She seemed to warm up to Cath just fine, although she didn't want them doing anything, you know, mischievous, around her. Pretty expected from a normal parent though, not that Cath had ever had one of those. Maybe Reagan's persona had just given off a bad vibe to her. Probably.

"Alright, just let me get dressed and stuff," Cath yawned.

"No need to, everyone's still in their pajamas," he said.

"Except you,"

"I like to get an early start on my day," he grinned.

She grimaced, her stomach boiled at the thought of accidently giving them all food poisoning.

"You get to use the eggs I just gathered!" Levi said.

"Great," Cath replied, "Are they sanitary?"

Levi laughed, "What do you mean are they sanitary?"

"Like, are they clean? Can people put them in their mouths?"

"Cather, I'm starting to think you're not talking about eggs anymore,"

"Ew, gross, Levi," she covered her ears, burrowing back into her pillow.

"I was kidding!" he pulled her back up, "Come on, Cath. Please make them omelets, they'll be so happy,"

"Fine," she groaned, pulling herself up off the air mattress.

Levi held her hand until they reached the top of the stairs, brushing his thumb lightly over hers, making knots reproduce in her stomach. He let go reluctantly, and she followed him into the kitchen.

The green walls and black and white checked floor reminded Cath of a 70's kitchen, the vintage kind that teenage girls would probably die for if they knew it existed.

"Good morning, Cather," Levi's mom greeted her, sipping a coffee with her left hand and getting ready to smack Levi for spilling tea all over the counter with her right.

"Good morning," Cath replied, stepping further into the room.

"Here's your eggs," Levi smiled, motioning to a basket on the counter.

"Thanks," she said.

"We have ham, bacon, cheese, and all sorts of stuff in the fridge," his mom offered.

"Thank you," Cath said, his mom smiled. She began gathering her ingredients and throwing eggs into a greased pan. This process was so ingrained in her mind that it was almost relaxing.

"Have you heard back from your father yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet," Cath fumbled with the cheese, spilling some on the counter.

"I'm sure he's just been busy with work," she said.

"Yeah…me too," Cath said, thinking of everything that could have gone wrong by now. Last night she'd almost asked Levi to drive her back home just to check on him, but she didn't want to seem like she didn't like it here. He could be drenched in toothpaste right now for all she knew, trying to write an ad for fucking Kelly.

Fucking Kelly.

He was probably keeping an eye on her dad; he had said he would. Cath tried to let the worries pass her, but something stayed lumped up inside her.

She finished the omelets, letting Levi and his family dig in, not eating anything herself. Because she knew that if she did it would all come out the wrong way.

"Cath again, please call me back_,"_


	2. Chapter 2

"Cather," Levi poked her upper arm, "Cath,"

She suddenly flew up out of sleep, "Jesus, Levi,"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. You've just been out for hours…I wanted to do something together," he smiled brightly.

"I know, I just, I'm really worried about my dad. And Wren. I'm so worried about Wren,"

"You worry too much, Cath," Levi pushed her loose hair behind her ear, "Let's go exploring,"

"Exploring? Can we go exploring back to Omaha so I can check on my dad?"

"Is this seriously bothering you that much?"

Cath nodded. Honestly, when wasn't something like this bothering her? She was always thinking about someone else's life.

"I'll make you a deal," Levi brightened up, "We'll go see your dad tomorrow, Sunday, if today we can check out Arnold,"

"Alright," A small grin grew on Cath's face, "What are you going to show me?"

"All the places I wish I could've grown up with you," he replied. Cath blushed, and tried to hide it by pushing her glasses up.

"Let's go, then," she said.

* * *

Arnold was, well, more impressive than Cath had been expecting, but for to be fair she hadn't been expecting much. She guessed that most of the impressiveness came from how excited Levi was to show her certain places and tell her about the events that happened to him. Even if it was just the drinking fountain he'd been pushed into at his elementary school in the first grade, causing a chipped front tooth that could be fixed.

"I wanted to keep it chipped," he had said, "But it was a baby tooth still, and so I lost it,"

It was extremely hard for Cath to believe that the most smiley boy ever had wanted to keep a chipped front tooth. She imagined him smiling at her with the chipped tooth and giggled a little. He'd still be perfect.

He took her to his middle school, "It was the best three years of my life," he said, contrary to popular opinion.

They sat in the small park, the only one in the entire town, licking drips that fell from their strawberry ice cream cones.

"This is perfect, Cather," Levi said, smiling. Cath would've told him he was perfect, but her phone began ringing, and she pulled it out of her phone. Her entire being wished for it to be her father; please, please, she thought, be dad.

She looked at the caller ID…Wren.

"Hello?" Cath answered.

"Hey, have you heard from dad lately?"

"No, I've left him countless messages and he hasn't called me back yet. Levi and I are going over there tomorrow,"

"I'm seriously worried, Cath,"

"So am I, are you going home to check on him soon too? We can get you tomorrow,"

"No, that's fine. If one of us goes to make sure he's okay, then that's good enough," she said. Cath didn't think that was quite right; he hadn't answered in nearly four days.

"Alright…well, thanks for checking up, I'll talk to you tomorrow when we go home, okay?"

"Yep, bye Cath,"

"Bye," Cath said, pressing end on her phone. Levi looked down at her, putting his arm around her waist, and kissing the top of her head.

"Everything okay?" he asked her.

"Hopefully," Cath replied.

* * *

They sat there until sunset, watching the colors of the sky turn from blue to cream orange, to red and magenta, bright orange, and then purple. Levi inhaled a breath of Cath's hair, exhaling peacefully. Crickets chirped around them, breaking every silence in Arnold. They didn't detract from the beauty of the scene, though. They added to it, if anything. They only went back to Levi's when Cath started getting chilly because they hadn't brought jackets.

When they got back, Cath went downstairs and Levi went up, "Goodnight, sweetheart," he whispered, making eye contact with her while walking up the steps.

Cath changed into her pajamas, and sat down on her air matress, brushing out her long hair. Tomorrow they'd see her dad, and she hoped he was okay. He'd raised Cath and Wren by himself, all while dealing with his own issues. It didn't make sense that when they left, suddenly things started to go wrong again. He could hold himself up with them, so why not without them?

Cath thought of all these things, slowly drifting into sleep.

* * *

When she woke up, sun was peaking through the windows again. Levi walked down to say goodmorning, already dressed of course, and that they'd leave soon. She got dressed quickly, not bothering to eat breakfast before they left. She had no appetite.

They left early, before anyone else was up. Levi started the truck, and Cath sat in the passenger seat.

"It'll be okay, Cath," Levi said, leaning across the middle of the truck to give her a light kiss on the forehead. Cath stayed quiet, not sure what to say because there was the possibility that it could be very much not okay at home. She stared out the window most of the ride, only occasionally looking over at Levi when he would touch her shoulder or her hand. She tried to think of all the good reasons her dad hadn't called her back yet: maybe his phone died and he forgot to charge it, maybe he ran his phone through the laundry again, or maybe he had called her back and Cath's phone just wasn't receiving the messages. She couldn't help thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong, though. Those thoughts were the ones going through her mind when they pulled up to her house that Sunday, and saw her dad's car sitting in the driveway.

"Ready to go in?" Levi asked her.

"No, but I'm going to have to, aren't I?"


	3. Chapter 3

Hello! I'm terribly sorry that I've been so long in updating. I've been very busy with some things, but summer is coming so ALAS writing again. All credit goes to Rainbow Rowell for her amazing story Fangirl, and without further ado... _ Cath opened the door slowly, peering around the corner to see what was going on inside. Not to her surprise, there were papers strewn everywhere. She fully opened the door so that Levi and her could come in, and then shut it behind them. "It looks like a tornado went through here," Levi commented. "This isn't unusual," Cath replied, "Well, nothing seems unusual yet. Dad!?" she yelled throughout the house. There was no reply. Cath's palms began to sweat and her breath picked up quickly, "Dad!?" she busted out again. No reply again. Her eyes welled up in tears as she ran upstairs to his bedroom, noticing glue splattered on the walls. She searched the bedroom tediously. He wasn't in the bathroom, Cath and Wren's room…he wasn't anywhere. There was toothpaste on the mirrors again but she couldn't make out what it meant. Levi had stayed downstairs to look for signs of her dad. "Levi…" Cath groaned as she fell to the bathroom floor. He heard her thump to the ground and hurried upstairs. "Cather?" he fell to his knees, feeling for her pulse. He felt a beat in her wrist, but she was out cold. Levi pulled out his phone and dialed 911, alerting them that he was bringing his unconscious girlfriend to the hospital immediately. He scooped her up in his arms, her skin looked so white right then, he could feel himself losing time. He rushed through the door, only realizing then that he didn't know how to seat an unconscious girl in a car. He called 911 again and an ambulance arrived within minutes. He followed behind them in his car, and raced up to the reception desk as soon as he parked. "Hello, my name is Levi, and I'm romantically involved with the girl they just carried up on the stretcher. I know that you're going to say that only family is allowed right now, but here's the thing, none of her family is here. I am, so can I please go up and see her?" The receptionist glared at him, "Only family is allowed right now," she spoke. "You don't understand…" Levi said, "Please, please, please let me go up," he begged. "Fine, first door to your left," "Thank you so much ma'am, is there any way I can repay you?" "Just go away," she muttered. Levi gave her a thumbs-up and burst through the doors she'd directed him towards. He reached the end of the corridor and yelled, "Where's Cather?" An array of medical personnel turned around to face him, giving him strange looks. "Cather Avery?" One of the doctors asked, Levi nodded, "Right this way," He led Levi to Cath's room, "She's still unconscious, but feel free to sit here. We've just hooked her up to our machines. Should be any minute now…" he said as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Levi walked over to Cath. The walls were stark white, and it smelt like dead people. Not that Levi really knew what dead people smelt like, he was only assuming. He brushed her hair out of her face with his thumb, and began to feel reassured by the doctor's words…it should be any minute now. He leaned over her, bending down to kiss her forehead, and then walked back to sit down in the aforementioned chair. He waited, and waited for what seemed like forever but had actually been five minutes. He called Wren to let her know what was going on. "Hey Wren, it's Levi," he said when she picked up. "Hi, what's up?" she asked. "Well, we got to your house, there was no sign of your dad anywhere and the entire house was a mess, Cather freaked and passed out on the bathroom floor, we're at the hospital now," "Oh my god? Are you serious?" Wren asked. "I mean, yeah, we're here…I wouldn't lie about that," "I know, I know. So is she awake now?" "No, she's still out. The doctor seemed to think she'd be up any minute," "Okay…okay…So, what about our dad?" "We're not sure right now. You should probably get down here as soon as you can so you two can figure this out," Levi said seriously. "I'm getting in the car right now. It's about two hours drive though, so I'll see you then," Wren said. "Drive safe," Levi answered, and Wren hung up. He peered over at Cath who was still asleep, and thought about how much he needed her. She'll be up in a few minutes, he remembered the doctor's words, and closed his eyes shut for a few minutes. There were so many things they were going to do this summer. He was going to show her the way around the ranch…you know, so that maybe they could have one together one day, but it didn't look like that would be happening now. It looked liked they'd be on a hunt for Mr. Avery. Which Levi didn't have a problem with, since he'd be with Cath. "Levi?" he heard Cath's voice, and his eyes shot open. "Cath!" he jumped out of his seat, "I'm so happy you're alive," he went closer to her, kissing her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, and finally her lips, "Don't ever pass out on me again," Cath giggled, "I'll try not to, but I can't make any promises," Her laugh subsided, "How long have I been here?" "Maybe half an hour or so," "What about my dad?" "Cather…we couldn't find your dad," "Oh…that's right, I forgot for a second," "Wren's on her way…everything's going to be okay, Cath." Levi said. The doctor came in, making a great exclamation about how awake Cath was, and began running a few tests on her. Cath nodded at Levi, trying to believe that everything would be okay. 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - Hi guys, just another chapter :) I've been noticing that a lot of people have this story followed, but I don't get much feedback on it. I'd appreciate any feedback in the reviews to know how I'm doing and what you like, so I can keep writing something you enjoy! Just getting a story follow makes me excited, but confused as to why there are so many with such little feedback. Thank you for reading :)**

**~Brooke**

* * *

"I just don't understand where he could be," Cath dazed out the window on their drive back from the hospital. She'd been released about half an hour after she'd woken up.

"We'll find him," Levi reassured her, reaching over to rub her shoulder.

His car pulled into her driveway and they both hopped out. Wren would be arriving in about an hour or so, so they went inside to see if anything in the fridge was safe to eat.

"Green beans?" Cath asked, Levi nodded, "Leftover burritos and tacos? You might not want that. How about this corn?"

And so they ate green beans and corn. Cath didn't feel too hungry anyway after all that had happened. She decided to search more around the house for any clues her father might have left about where he'd gone.

"I can't decipher what this toothpaste says!" Levi shouted from the bathroom.

"It's usually just nonsense…" Cath retorted, "I'm looking for something different, like some paperwork that might explain a business trip,"

"Oh good thinking," Levi walked into Mr. Avery's room where Cath was and faced her, taking both of her hands, "You're so smart," he cooed. She giggled and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. His arms scooped her up, and dropped her on the bed standing next to them. Levi leaned over her and began tickling every inch of her body.

"Stop!" she snorted, curling up into a ball and echoing in laughter. Levi climbed onto the bed in order to more easily tickle her.

"No, you're way too cute when you're like this," Levi commented, continuing with the disruption. Cath was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. Her breaths were short, and Levi figured that a girl who'd just spent an hour or so in the emergency room should get as much air as possible, so he rolled over to the other side of the bed and let her breathe. He heard her uncurl herself, and slowly make her way over to his side. Her arms wrapped herself around Levi and she began tickling him back.

"Oh no you don't," Levi said and pushed her into the air so that her hands were dangling over him, reaching out to try to touch him.

"This isn't even fair," she laughed. Levi grinned his big old grin.

"Nobody said it had to be fair,"

He let his arms collapse so that she fell into his arms, not tickling her. She pushed her head into the space between his head and shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing.

"He's not here," she breathed, "But you are,"

Levi rolled over so that they were facing each other and pressed his lips lightly to hers, then again pulling her lips apart slowly. His hand moved up and down her waist, soothing her emotions. Her hand fell to his jaw, causing the kiss to become more stable. Their sighs synchronized and their chests moved up and down in the same rhythm. As soon as their lips parted, they would be making their way back to meet again, like inseparable entities.

"Can we stay like this?" Levi whispered before kissing her again.

"Sadly, no," Cath replied, pulling away from their last touch. She sat upright, pulling her hair her usual pony.

"Cathhhhhhhhhh," Levi whined.

"Leviiiiiiii," she mimicked, "Wren's going to be here soon,"

"Oh right," Levi sat up, "Where are we even going to start?"

"With these papers," Cath handed him a stack, "This was what I was doing before you so rudely interrupted me,"

"I see, I see," he said, inspecting the pages, "Do you see anything?"

"Not yet, give me a second,"

Cath searched through her stack of papers while Levi glanced through his. What they were looking for was some type of destination he might have had. Cath found nothing, and so she decided to try calling him again. When he didn't answer, she thought maybe fucking Kelly would know, and so she dialed his number.

"Hello?" fucking Kelly answered.

"Hi, Kelly, this is Cath, have you heard anything from my dad lately?"

"Not at all. He seemed stressed the last few weeks so I told him to take a few days off…I don't remember when that was though, I just assumed he'd come back when he was feeling better,"

"Okay, well here's the thing. He's been missing for four days, hasn't answered any of my phone calls and now I'm at home and he isn't here either,"

"Oh my," Kelly replied.

"Are you sure you don't have any idea where he could be?"

"I don't remember him saying anything about going anywhere…"

"Alright, well, thanks, please call me and let me know if you hear anything," Cath shut the phone a bit frustrated.

"No luck?" Levi looked over at her.

"None,"

They heard the creek at the door, and walked into the hallway.

"Cath?" Wren's voice rang, "Levi?"

"Wren!" Cath ran down the stairs and hugged her sister, "I'm so glad you came,"

"Of course I came," she said into Cath's shoulder, which was where she was thanks to the bear hug that was surrounding her, they pulled apart, "Have you found anything out about dad yet?"

"Nothing, I even called fucking Kelly,"

"Wow. That's when you know you've hit the last resort," Wren joked, Cath's shoulders shook with laughter.

"I just can't imagine where he'd be right now…" Cath's face fell, she moseyed over to the kitchen table, sitting down and resting her head in between her hands. Levi and Wren took a seat around the table to join her.

"He's probably just on business trip," Wren soothed her.

"No. That was the only help Kelly was. The last time he saw dad was when he told him that he should take a few days off,"

"Oh god," Wren replied, furrowing her eyebrows, "Maybe he took a personal vacation?"

"Dad? Take a vacation? Yeah right,"

Wren knew Cath was right, which was why even she began to worry.

"Wait," Levi said, "You've been calling him for like, five days now, and he hasn't picked up…Is his phone in the house somewhere?"

Levi was right. If they could find their dad's phone, then it could have significant evidence as to where he'd gone.

* * *

**What do you think? Where is Mr. Avery?**


End file.
